With recent Texas deaths attributed to the H1N1 flu virus, the seasonal illness continues to make headlines.

According to the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Texas is among the six states with the highest reports of influenza-like illness (including the flu). The other states are Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Oklahoma.

The online survey of 1,000 adults, taken in August, was the foundation's first questionnaire to look at people's flu attitudes and behaviors, said Dr. Susan J. Rehm, the organization's medical director.

"While most people know that flu is very serious and contagious, they have misconceptions about flu prevention and treatment," she said.

About one-third of respondents in Texas (35 percent) incorrectly believe that flu vaccine is used to treat the flu once you get sick, and 33 percent believe antibiotics treat it. Since flu is caused by a virus, antibiotics are not effective to treat it.

A vast majority of Texans (93 percent) said they consider the flu to be a serious condition, but only 44 percent got a flu vaccination in 2012, according to the foundation's survey results. Nationwide, just 41 percent of people got the flu vaccine last year, the foundation said.

Many people still believe the myth that getting a flu shot can give you the flu, Rehm said.

"The injectable vaccine doesn't have any live virus — it's just viral protein," she said. "The inhaled form has attenuated live virus which doesn't cause disease."

When people say the flu shot gave them the flu, it usually means they either contracted some other illness or they came down with the flu before the shot had a chance to work, which takes at least two weeks, Rehm said.

"They did get the flu but not because they had the vaccine," she said.

It's still not too late to get a shot for the 2013-14 flu season, according to CDC.

The flu season may not peak until February or March, and cases could arrive as late as May, the CDC's website states.

If you contract the flu, the course of the illness can be shortened with prescription antiviral drugs. To get the best results, it's important to start the drugs within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms, Rehm said.

If you're traveling and find yourself on an airplane next to someone who seems to be ill, you can take some steps to protect yourself without being rude, said Anna Post, great-great-granddaughter of etiquette writer Emily Post and co-author of Emily Post's Etiquette 18th edition.

The foundation and Emily Post Institute work together on flu education, according to a news release.

Post said she always travels with tissues and alcohol-based hand sanitizer. If it's not an option to move to another seat, you can offer these items to your seatmate if appropriate, she said.

"To maybe prompt their behavior, you can say, 'I can see you're not feeling well. Would you mind covering your cough?' " she said. "Keep your tone friendly and neutral."

Historically, Post said, some manners are related to hygiene.

"It's hard to tell which came first," she said. "In France, it was considered rude to touch your face. In part that's good hygiene etiquette."